John Terry headed for the airport immediately after his Aston Villa unveiling and will meet his new teammates in Portugal tonight.

Portugal was where Steve Bruce unleashed all of his persuasive powers to convince Terry to join Villa during their afternoons spent on the golf course greens.

And, after spending a couple of hours chatting with the assembled media at Villa Park this afternoon, Terry, along with his new manager Bruce, made the short trip to Birmingham Airport to board a plane for the Algarve.

The former England skipper was so keen to get to know his new pals that he asked to jet off today rather than tomorrow morning.

Terry’s new teammates flew out to their pre-season training camp on Sunday and are understandably excited about meeting the five-time Premier League winner.

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Terry is unlikely to make tonight’s session with Colin Calderwood and Stephen Clemence planning to put the players through their paces at around 7pm, but he will meet his new dressing room buddies over supper.

Terry, 36, has signed a one-year deal with the option of a further 12 months and will wear Villa’s No.26 shirt.